Japan's top envoy to Taiwan bids Ma farewell

Masaki Saito, chief of the Taipei office of the Japan Interchange Association — Japan's de facto embassy in Taiwan — is scheduled to return home Dec. 20. He will be succeeded by Tadashi Imai, a former ambassador to Israel, who will arrive in late January to take up the new post.

“During Saito's one year and five months in office, Taiwan and Japan have seen the fastest pace of growth in bilateral relations,” President Ma said.

Ma cited the opening of a Taiwan representative office in Sapporo on Dec. 1 and the signing of a charter flight agreement between Japan's Haneda Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport as examples of the progress achieved during Saito's tenure.

He also made mention of the financial assistance provided by the Japan Interchange Association to help establish a contemporary Japan research center at National Cheng Chi University in Taipei, which he said is resource for quick and authoritative information on Japan.

In addition, the working holiday program set up by the two countries now allows for increased exchanges and better understanding between their young people, the president noted.

He said the private sector is also planning to establish a memorial park for Yoichi Hatta (1886-1942), at Wushantou Reservoir in Tainan County, southern Taiwan in honor of the Japanese hydraulic engineer who helped design Chianan Canal and build the reservoir. This signals closer private sector exchanges between the two countries, he added.

Taiwan and Japan have had long and deep historical links, and in the years after World War II the ties were good, according to Ma. Even though bilateral relations have undergone some twists and turns over the past years due to China's obstruction, they should get back on an even keel with the improvement of cross-Taiwan Strait ties, he added.

Saito, in response, expressed appreciation for the hospitality accorded to him during his tenure in Taiwan, and said he wished Imai success in opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.

It is widely believed that Saito's resignation resulted from the controversy caused by his comment in May that “Taiwan's status remains unclear,” which angered Taiwan and spurred local officials to give him the cold shoulder.

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